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updated Wednesday, February 13, 2013 - 9:14pm

‘BROUNDUP’ — FIRSTS EDITION: As the first person to announce his candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat from which Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., will be retiring, U.S. Rep. Paul Broun, R-Ga., northeast Georgia’s man in Washington, is claiming another first in a fundraising letter published Wednesday at Jim Galloway’s Political Insider blog for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

In the pitch, Broun writes, “As a Member of the House of Representatives for the last few years, I have fought tooth-and-nail against President Obama’s agenda at every turn. I was the first Member of Congress to call him a socialist who embraces Marxist-Leninist policies like government control of health care and redistribution of wealth.”

Taking a quick trip back in time, we find that Broun labeled the president a socialist with Marxist-Leninist tendencies in a Nov. 10, 2008, interview with The Associated Press. In comments about a presidential plan to establish a civilian force to take some burdens off the military, Broun said Obama was “the one who proposed this national security force. I’m just trying to bring attention to the fact that we may — may not, I hope not — but we may have a problem with that type of philosophy of radical socialism or Marxism.”

Considering that Broun’s comments came six days after Obama was elected to the presidency, and two months before Obama’s first inauguration, it seems likely that Broun’s claim to be the first member of Congress to call the president a socialist is accurate. In a brief Google search, I couldn’t find any earlier references from any other congressman, but as always, I do stand to be corrected. If you find any remarks from any congressman other than Broun earlier than Nov. 10, 2008, please pass them along.

DON’T ASK, DON’T ANSWER —YET: The Tax Policy Center, a joint venture of the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution, took the romance right out of Valentine’s Day with a Wednesday email announcing its updated Marriage Bonus and Penalty Tax Calculator.

According to the center, the calculator, which incorporates changes made in the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, “enables lovebirds to determine whether tying the knot delivers a tax bonus — or penalty.”

So, if you’re planning to propose marriage today, or if you’re expecting to receive a proposal, and the tax implications of that circumstance are on your mind, you can find the calculator online at http://bit.ly/NizWr1.